Allen Kinsey Taylor

Thanks to @aktaylor (KF16 & KF Board Member) of @endeavor_global for presenting valuable insights into the dynamics shaping VC investments worldwide, the factors driving these changes, and the potential implications for startups and investors.

There can be no startup ecosystem without social trust. The US leads the world in innovation, which is due, in large part, to the unrivaled level of trust between founders, funders, employees, and other stakeholders. Innovation is essential, but there can be no real progress without institutions. Consider the amount of trust required in a partnership between investors and entrepreneurs. Social trust drives early-stage venture capital: 🏫 Most VCs can trust that entrepreneurs will be truthful about where they went to school and what they studied while pitching their startups. 🌇 We can take it on faith that they have worked at all the companies where they have claimed prior employment. 🏦 After an investor wires the funds, investors can assume a founder will deposit money in a safe bank account. 💳 Ditto; the founders will spend the funds on projects roughly aligned with their presentation. 📜 We can expect they will hire a team following all relevant laws and not show undue favor to family or unqualified friends. Founders also benefit from high levels of social trust: 💱 Founders can avail themselves of technical frameworks and banking relationships that are transparent, easy to enter and exit, and dependable. ⚖️ Entrepreneurs know that the law will hold them legally blameless if their startup fails (assuming they follow well-understood rules and regulations.) More importantly, founders can also have confidence that if they conduct themselves well, they’ll have the opportunity to raise capital again. 🧮 Entrepreneurs can rest assured that most serious VCs will offer terms and valuations that fall within a typical band for their industry and stage. Stepping back, it’s astonishing how much entrepreneurship is enabled by leaps of faith. For instance, in over 20 years of investing across hundreds of companies, I’ve never had a founder make a material misrepresentation about their background. I’ve never witnessed a case of the founder stealing funds. To be sure, I am the beneficiary of good fortune, but even more so, to operate in an environment where the overwhelming majority of people play by the rules. Of course, VCs/entrepreneurs spend tens of thousands of dollars on legal protections to ensure they’ll be protected if that trust breaks down, but the system functions because it so rarely does. If even a few percent of participants in the ecosystem failed to follow these norms, the system would break down. If players routinely broke the social contract, the need for more legalistic arrangements would increase, and the pace of innovation would slow – dramatically. While we still operate in a largely high-trust society, a noticeable erosion should give us pause. The economic engine that powers the startup ecosystem, the United States economy, and the free world is powerful but delicate. As stakeholders of that system, we need to be thinking about how to preserve it and make it resilient to hostile actors, both foreign and domestic. It’s not enough to think of our job as searching for the next breakthroughs in technology. We must also seek to fill gaps in the framework of social trust, wherever they appear. The methods will vary, but startup community members can’t ignore the necessity to do so. I’m excited to learn if you agree and how we can ensure this ecosystem thrives for decades to come.

Born in Africa, whole career in the US, invested globally. I have no natural bias in favor of or against any region I believe Latin America, particularly Brazil and Mexico, are the best risk/reward in venture capital over the next 5-10 years

Just spoke with an experienced LatAm founder “High inflation, high interest rates, fear of recession, general macro and political uncertainty, limited access to capital. This is a home game!”

Remember when we talked for years about the @PayPal effect? How it was the school for hundreds of great entrepreneurs like @reidhoffman @mlevchin @elonmusk and more? Well in Latin America it’s now the @RappiColombia @RappiMexico @RappiBrasil effect…

Never been more bullish on LatAm tech than I am now Huge problems to solve, in every category, with more incredible founders (from all over the world) seizing the opportunity The future is being built in Latin America

Today, fund managers are limited to 99 LPs for funds over $10M (< $10M can have 250 LPs). A bill was introduced a few weeks ago which could be a game changer for small funds, allowing up to 500 LPs for funds < $50M. ✨✨Here's to this amendment passing quickly!

Last week, Endeavor Entrepreneur Brian Requarth announced one of LatAm's largest seed capital rounds! Yet, this milestone is just part of a bigger story. Brian's story shows us entrepreneurial success starts with a successful business but goes beyond it. #MultiplierEffect

People are still significantly underestimating the impact of Zoom on global capital flows.

LatAmRanks As The World’s Fastest-Growing Region For Venture Funding-- $19.5 billion into LatAm, per @crunchbase 3x prior year levels, which were themselves record-setting. I appreciate the OGs like @endeavor_global @NXTPvc @Wayra @startupchile quienes abrieron el camino

Our new website is LIVE, built to be entrepreneur first. Featuring Endeavor Entrepreneur success stories, our global community, and resources to support you along your founder journey. #OneEndeavor

It’s hard to look at this and feel secure. But it’s also possible that this is just the beginning

Cryptocurrencies: developing countries provide fertile ground. Some of my favorite unannounced investments at ⁦@Alter_Global⁩ are in #crypto companies an emerging tech cities. The impact is huge! ft.com/content/1ea829…

As Stanford was to Silicon Valley, On Deck will be to the internet.

“Silicon Valley” isn’t just money and technology. It’s a philosophical movement that has rewritten the rules of building businesses and creating value. My attempt at summarizing the most important tenets: Be unreasonably optimistic Move uncomfortably fast

July 4th and patriotism are great but nation states are an increasingly stale organizing principle. I’m enthusiastic about smaller geographic groupings (city-states) and disrupting geography altogether (globally dispersed coalitions driven by shared purpose)

1- So the latest @KauffmanFellows class was finally announced today & this group is pure 🔥 Special congrats to @jenrichardx @MoniqueWoodard @BHolls1 @meghalexander @mayahorgan @IamVPE @NasirQadree @EarnestSweat @syndeypaige @seanmendy @sydneypaige10 @MacConwell @lolitataub

“Permanently divorcing physical location from economic opportunity gives us a real shot[…] We may, at long last, shatter the geographic lottery, opening up opportunity to countless people who weren’t lucky enough to be born in the right place.” - @pmarca future.a16z.com/technology-sav…

For the folks in the back.. 📣 LATAM fintech is 🔥 📣 In the last month 🇲🇽: @Bitso raised $250M 🇪🇨: @KushkiOficial raised $86M 🇪🇸 & 🇲🇽: @joinbelvo raised $43M 🇺🇸 & 🇲🇽: @jeeves_inc raised $31M 🇲🇽: @GetClaraCard raised $30M 🇦🇷: @pomelo_latam raised $9M 🇧🇷: @divibank raised $4M

The Weekend Read: Venture Capital in 2021 → Bigger 💪 Faster 🏃‍♀️ More Global 🌎 🌍 🌏 medium.com/endeavor-catal… By @aktaylor of @endeavor_global